How Many Bugs in a Box?How Many Bugs in a Box?
Kids of all ages (both young and not-so-young) have delighted in David A. Carter's pop-up book How Many Bugs in a Box?. His new CD-ROM version is more than the book on a disc; it includes eight entertaining games to teach number recognition, counting, sorting, sequencing, and other number skills.
The host of How Many Bugs in a Box? is a Snazzy Bug in a polka dot box who guides the user to either of two areas: Read Along & Explore or Bug Fun. Selecting Read Along & Explore opens an interactive version of the book. Here, children can listen to and read the words on each page, then click to open the box and discover how many bugs are inside. Clicking on the opened box presents the child with a variety of fun and sometimes hidden animation, such as, One Tough Bug flexing its muscles or Four Fast Fleas fleeing the page. Navigation is easy using Pointing Finger Bugs to page forward or backward.
The other main menu choice, Bug Fun, leads to eight entertaining number games. Through these games, children learn and practice a variety of number skills like: recognizing colors, numbers, and sequences; sorting items; reading charts; and understanding greater and less than. Games range from counting bugs to coloring bugs to helping bugs get home. The well-written User Guide describes each game and its educational content.
Because children can play the games at three different levels of difficulty this software will grow with its users. Unfortunately, users must reset the skill level each time they restart the game. The documentation recommends How Many Bugs in a Box? for children ages three to six, but even seven year olds found these activities interesting enough for them.
To find out where "bugs go to relax after a long day of numbers and counting" users can visit the Juice Bar. Purely for fun, the Juice Bar contains all of the bugs featured throughout the program. A click anywhere on the scene produces yet more animation. When playing the number games, a chorus of bugs introduces each game with an original song. In the Juice Bar, children can select the Bug Juke Box to replay and sing along with any of the eight songs.
How Many Bugs in a Box? is delivered on a single CD-ROM containing both Windows and Macintosh versions. Either version can run directly from the CD-ROM, minimizing hard disk usage, but installing part of the program on a hard disk will improve performance. If installed, the title will occupy 2.5 MB of hard disk space on a Macintosh. On a Windows system, it will consume between one and 17 MB, depending up the installation option chosen: small, medium, and large.
How does the CD-ROM version of How Many Bugs in a Box? compare with the printed book? While the pages in the CD-ROM contain some amusing animation, it is pretty hard to compete with the three-dimensional pop-up effects of the book. What sets the software apart from the paperware is the eight number games, which the book does not have. These games are effective, fun, and will entertain for hours.
This title is a lot of fun. How Many Bugs in a Box? contains cute animation, cuter songs, and bugs that can make even a diehard exterminator smile. Combine these with some well-thought-out educational games and you have a winner. But be careful if you are around while your children are playing this title-you may find yourself humming "There are bugs in the closet. There are bugs everywhere . . ."
For PC: IBM compatible 486/25 or faster, 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended), 1 MB hard disk space, Windows 3.1 or later 640x480 SVGA (256-color) monitor, (local bus video card recommended), double-speed CD-ROM drive, Sound Blaster compatible sound card, mouse
For Macintosh: Macintosh LC III, Performa, or better, 5 MB RAM or more, 2.5 MB hard disk space, System 7.0 or later, 13" color monitor with 256 colors, double-speed CD-ROM drive
Dustin Kassman writes and reviews software in Corvallis, Oregon.
